This is the prom dress a teen says she was slut-shamed over — but her date denies it

For many teens, choosing a prom dress can be one of the most fun parts of high school. But it sounds as if that wasn’t the case for one Indiana student, who claims her ex-boyfriend slut-shamed her prom dress choice.

Madison Witham, a 16-year-old sophomore at Lakeland High School in LaGrange, Ind., shared on Twitter that she broke up with her boyfriend after he reportedly texted her that her prom dress made her “look like a slut.” The since-deleted tweets include photos of Witham’s prom dress, which appears to be a burgundy gown with a beaded bodice and an open back.

Photo: Madison Witham via Twitter

“For everyone who still cares what my dress looks like. (fyi, not going to prom anymore),” Witham tweeted alongside the photo, according to Fox News.

Photo: Madison Witham via Twitter

Last month, one of Witham’s tweets went viral. The now-deleted tweet included screenshots of what she claimed was a text conversation between her and her boyfriend, according to Fox News. In the screenshots, which were also shared by Insider, Witham sent a black-and-white photo of the dress, writing, “Not revealing the color yet :).”

However, instead of a positive response, the reply she claims she received was “too much skin, get rid of it and I’ll get you a new one b.”

When she said the dress wasn’t showing off too much skin, her boyfriend reportedly responded by saying the dress made her “look like a slut.” At that point Witham texted back, “I’ll stick w/ the dress and get myself a new man, byeee,” along with a smiley-face emoji.

Before Witham deleted the tweet, it earned plenty of responses from people sharing their support for her. But according to Witham’s ex, Justice Champion, there might be more to the story. Champion’s name entered the conversation when Witham’s dad talked to the Daily Mail, Fox News explains. Kevin Witham told the outlet that Champion had graduated from high school last year.

Champion has shared screenshots of a text conversation that he had with someone he listed in his contacts as “Madison Lilly.” In those screenshots, he responded “You look great” to the dress picture. In the screenshots Champion shared, posted by Fox News, Witham appears to have sent him a screenshot of the other conversation, in which she was reportedly slut-shamed. “It was one of my close dude friends and so I dropped him lolololol,” the text in Champion’s screenshot reads.

Nothing like being the target of false news. but hey, I’m famous now. ‍♂️ oh and if you think it’s actually me talking in Madison’s little screenshot, DM me and I’ll show you how our REAL conversation went.

It’s lovely knowing that no one cares about the truth anymore, and that people are 100% okay with posting something that’s false if they think it will raise their ratings. I will now forever be known on the internet as a “slut shamer.”

Also, we never even talked about going to prom together. Was never a topic in any conversation I had with anyone. Ever. Flat out pitiful and childish. But hey, I guess followers are more important than any one person’s life. Thanks for having potentially ruined mine.

Now, this might all just be a misunderstanding — Witham could have been slut-shamed by a male friend who wasn’t Champion. But what complicates things is Insider’s report — the outlet spoke with Witham, who apparently told the site that the boyfriend who sent her the texts is now her ex-boyfriend. That would make him more than a “close dude friend.” So it looks as if someone may well have sent the inflammatory text, even if it wasn’t Champion.

“I put it on Twitter just to expose him and [show] how mean he was to me,” Witham told Insider. “I was so surprised when I saw that it went viral because I did not even mean for it to go viral.” Whoever she’s referring to by “him,” it sounds like he caused pain over what should have been a fun dress reveal.

Only Witham and Champion know the truth about the conversation. But the tweet’s virality, and the outspread response to it, is a good reminder that it’s not OK to slut-shame anyone, whether that person is a friend or a partner. There are already plenty of sexist prom dress codes in place across the country — teens don’t need to be shamed by their peers, too.